San Bruno residents readying to rebuild

THE SAN BRUNO FIRE

Published 4:00 am, Wednesday, October 13, 2010

A month after a PG&E gas line exploded in a San Bruno neighborhood, cleanup efforts nearly draw to a close on Tuesday Oct. 12, 2010 in San Bruno, Calif.

A month after a PG&E gas line exploded in a San Bruno neighborhood, cleanup efforts nearly draw to a close on Tuesday Oct. 12, 2010 in San Bruno, Calif.

Photo: Mike Kepka, The Chronicle

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A month after a PG&E gas line exploded in a San Bruno neighborhood, a street sign at the corner of Claremont and Glenview streets remains intact.

A month after a PG&E gas line exploded in a San Bruno neighborhood, a street sign at the corner of Claremont and Glenview streets remains intact.

Photo: Mike Kepka, The Chronicle

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A month after a PG&E gas line exploded in a San Bruno neighborhood, Adrian Quintero, with AQ roofing, works on a home on the edge of the fire line in the devastated area on Tuesday Oct. 12, 2010 in San Bruno, Calif. less

A month after a PG&E gas line exploded in a San Bruno neighborhood, Adrian Quintero, with AQ roofing, works on a home on the edge of the fire line in the devastated area on Tuesday Oct. 12, 2010 in San Bruno, ... more

Photo: Mike Kepka, The Chronicle

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A month after a PG&E gas line exploded in a San Bruno neighborhood, Bill Magoolaghan walks past his house and the empty lot next to it on the same day workers and city officials announce that they have nearly completed cleanup efforts on Tuesday Oct. 12, 2010 in San Francisco, Calif. Magoolaghan says now the people who live there have to continue to put their lives back together. less

A month after a PG&E gas line exploded in a San Bruno neighborhood, Bill Magoolaghan walks past his house and the empty lot next to it on the same day workers and city officials announce that they have nearly ... more

Photo: Mike Kepka, The Chronicle

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A month after a PG&E gas line exploded in a San Bruno neighborhood, Tina Pellegrini and her dog Gus walk past an empty lot, where her house used to be, on Tuesday Oct. 12, 2010 in San Bruno, Calif.

A month after a PG&E gas line exploded in a San Bruno neighborhood, Tina Pellegrini and her dog Gus walk past an empty lot, where her house used to be, on Tuesday Oct. 12, 2010 in San Bruno, Calif.

Photo: Mike Kepka, The Chronicle

San Bruno residents readying to rebuild

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A little more than a month after the deadly pipeline blast in San Bruno, a neighborhood that once resembled a burnt-out war zone has changed. With a landscape of barren dirt lots covering several streets, it looks like a community that hasn't yet been built.

City and county officials wielded gold-painted shovels there Tuesday for what Mayor Jim Ruane called "a new start." They heralded the completed removal of 7,000 tons of ash and debris - chimney bricks, twisted metal, cars and cookware, among other indiscernible items - from 37 ruined homes.

They also announced the lifting of a public health emergency in the area and said they were working to streamline city rules to help victims rebuild.

But if possibility was in the air, so was anxiety. Some fire victims said Tuesday that they are concerned about tax complications and property values. Mostly, they said, they want assurance that the Pacific Gas and Electric Co. natural gas pipeline that ruptured on Sept. 9, killing eight people, will be routed out of their Crestmoor neighborhood.

'It would be suicide'

"I will rebuild, but only if they abandon that line," said Bob Pellegrini, a 48-year-old stationary engineer who joined officials at their news conference beside what was once his longtime home. "It would be suicide to build on that line."

The 30-inch transmission line, which sits a few feet underground, is not now in operation in the neighborhood. Whether it will return to service was a chief topic Saturday at a meeting attended by more than 100 neighborhood residents and Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Hillsborough.

Speier said Tuesday that she had already asked PG&E to remove the pipeline, and said the utility has shown in the past month that it can operate without that section.

Speier noted that the pipeline's route from Milpitas to San Francisco includes just two other residential areas, one in South San Francisco and one in San Carlos.

"I feel very strongly it should be removed," Speier said. "The angst of the community will be reduced, and property values won't fall."

Thinking about it

San Bruno and San Mateo County officials said they had no power to regulate the pipeline. Katie Romans, a spokeswoman for PG&E, said the company is "evaluating the impacts of all options regarding moving that segment of transmission line, and we'll work closely with all of the stakeholders involved to determine the best alternative."

Some residents are moving to rebuild quickly, even hiring architects. With that it mind, the San Bruno City Council was expected to pass measures late Tuesday that would waive all fees associated with replacing homes and expedite the process of getting plans approved.

Soil cleaned up

Meanwhile, Dean Peterson, San Mateo County's environmental health director, said his office is testing soil from each of the devastated properties. So far, he said, 11 lots have been deemed clean - including two that initially showed elevated levels of asbestos and arsenic. In those cases, work crews dug deeper and removed more soil.

As he spoke, trucks sprayed water on the lots to keep down dust and crews cut drainage ditches to prevent erosion. In coming days, workers plan to remove charred trees.

At the edge of a row of cleared lots, Bill Magoolaghan said he wasn't sure what the future held for him, his wife and four young children. His house survived, but just barely, ravaged by not only fire and smoke but water from firefighting efforts. Workers are removing his roof and interior walls.

"We'll be down to the studs and the concrete, and then we'll decide what to do," said Magoolaghan, 46, the co-owner of a market research firm.

Starting over

Retirees Bob and Nancy Hensel, whose home burned down, are more resolved to rebuild their home of 36 years, though they also want the pipeline moved.

Bob Hensel, a former fire battalion chief in San Bruno, said the couple lost two cats in the blaze, Zoe and Buckwheat, and irreplaceable photos and collectibles. PG&E gave them $50,000 from a relief fund, allowing them to buy a new car, and their insurance company paid for a rental home. Recently, they have talked to both a builder and an architect.

"We're going to get some things and get going again," Hensel said. But he quickly added, "Neither me or my wife are youngsters anymore, so it's a burden to start over."

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